An Open Platform for Education
Designed for schools who use the web as a platform
Abre is an open platform for schools who want to have a creative portal for their staff and students. Abre holds a collection of web apps. It also provides a framework for developers to create standalone web applications. Abre is licensed under a GNU General Public License (Version 3). Contributors welcomed.
Relevant Modules
We’ve a few modules in development. Modules vary in their complexities. Some modules incorporate other well known open source applications. All are open source.
Streams – Curated content. Each stream has a theme (example: social studies). A unique twist on the RSS feed. Any RSS feed will work. We use magazines created in Flipboard and render the magazine into our streams.
Cards – Cards are mini-web apps. They display summary information. Currently Abre features cards for the core Google education apps: Gmail, Drive, Calendar, and Classroom.
App Canvas – A canvas for collecting external web applications. Basically a simple icon based page with links to external web applications and sites.
Assessments – A quick and easy way to build AIR like common assessments and track student progress and understanding aligned to standards.
Students – A module for understanding analyzing and understanding information stored in your student information system (SIS).
Guided Learning – Works with the Abre Chrome app to serve as a locked down browser for delivering a focused lesson.
Curriculum – A curriculum module that contains all curriculum maps as well as model lessons.
Directory – A directory module used by Human Resources to track those who work in the district. Includes license information as well as evaluations.
Books – A module for collecting and hosting online textbooks. Allows students to either read their books on the Abre platform or download to their own device.
A work in progress
We started by creating a strong foundation for developing educational web applications. We will continue to develop Abre by creating additional modules that will increase the functionality of the platform.